WHAT'S NEW IN CORPORATE ART

WHAT'S NEW IN CORPORATE ART; SEEKING EXPOSURE, COMPANIES TAKE THEIR SHOWS ON THE ROAD

By BRUCE SERLEN; Bruce Serlen is a New York-based business writer.

Published: February 12, 1989

While corporations have long patronized the arts, they are much more active participants in the process these days. ''They are not merely lending works to museum shows, but are organizing shows and sponsoring tours drawing from their own collections,'' said Judith A. Jedlicka, president of the Business Committee for the Arts, an industry group that encourages business to take a more active role in the arts.

Having grown in both size and stature, corporate collections today are in much greater demand by museum curators. Having become a legitimate art form, pop art collected by corporations in the 1960's, for instance, is now sought out for gallery exhibits. ''Within a matter of years, contemporary work can take on historical perspective and be of interest to museums,'' Mr. Resnicow, the consultant, said.

And corporations are keen on sharing their collections. Seeing works from the company's collection outside of the office fills employees and customers with pride. And the exposure enhances the collection's prestige, not to mention its public relations value. ''Companies are eager for the visibility such patronage affords,'' Ms. Jedlicka said.

Seeking exposure for their businesses, some companies have taken their shows on the road. That is one motive behind the Southwestern Bell Corporation's traveling exhibit. A sampling of the St. Louis company's contemporary works - including pieces by well-known names like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg and newer artists like Elizabeth Murray and Robert Longo - is traveling to museums in six cities in Kansas over a two-year period, which will conclude in October.

''These six communities don't often have access to shows of this nature,'' said Andrew Lona, a company spokesman. The opening in each city was held as a fund-raising benefit for the local arts council.

In part to increase its visibility in Japan, the Chase Manhattan Corporation is orchestrating a similar exhibit. It will send 130 objects from its 12,000-piece collection to the new Yokohama Museum of Art for a show opening in June in connection with a World Exposition. The exhibit focuses on American art post-1974 and follows the Japanese gallery's premiere show of 19th century works from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, according to Manuel Gonzalez, Chase's curator.

Some companies would rather have their patrons at home benefit from their collections. In late February, Blount Inc., a construction company, will donate 41 classic paintings from its collection - including works by Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keeffe - to the Museum of Fine Arts in Montgomery, Ala.

Having sent the works on tour throughout the country intermittently since the late 1970's, the company wanted to give them permanent public view in its home city, said Shirley H. Milligan, who is in charge of Blount's collection.